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Sunday, 26 January 2014

I have written a few versions of my Solo play rules tailored for various rulesets.

Here is another for one of my favourite rulesets Today it is the turn of Skank - Warlords of the Wasteland 2085 which is a free ruleset that can be found here.For anyone who plays Skank ... enjoy! If anyone is interested in a PDF of these rules they can be found here.

I have written a few versions of my Solo play rules tailored for various rulesets. Today it is the turn of Wastelands 3 - Meltdown which is a free ruleset that can be found here.For anyone who plays Wastelands 3... enjoy! If anyone is interested in a PDF of these rules here.

Saturday, 25 January 2014

Welcome once again to this week's Wasteland Wondering. It has been a fun week personally. I found a few interesting bits, came up with some ideas and got some figures painted... well nearly painted. During a quiet spell in work waiting for equipment to work I came up with the concept of a Campaign for a SOS Bunker (for those unfamiliar with Mattblackgod's world as SOS Bunker was packed with everything to recover an area after an apocalyptic event). Firstly it was the bunker hunters only but then such supplies and facilities would be interested. This drifted into all my communities. By the time I had finished I had over 50 gangs and armies to use! The idea twisted a little into a fight for the legendary tomb of the Matt Black God or possibly his banner. To play a league I would have needed to play 5 games a day for a year. The other way would be to play 5 grand slam games with 10 factions per game and whittle it down that way. It would be total chaos. For now this will be a pipe dream. But it did give me some great terrain ideas. I am tempted to post a gang here every week. It would take a year and many of them where made before I started this blog.

So on to the WIP minis.....So this is this weeks WIPs...My good Lady has been tasked with choosing a team color for her Dreadball team. She cant decide so I painted up some testers.

Hopefully we will have a winner soon. I made a start on the Dreadball Orx figures.

These areonly paint scheme testers. I like the colors. They need highlighting, washes and detailing.I have nearly finished this guy...

Meanwhile in Poundstretcher I found a cheap P51 Mustang clip together kit for £2.99. I had to pick it up. It isn't very good. Its only a close approximation to a P51. However I think it will make great terrain. I don't have many air wrecks in my wastelands.

Regular visitors to this blog will remember me asking for opinions on a choice for a Post Apocalyptic Warlord in this post

Looking at the picture I prefer No2 as the Warlord. I think a grizzled veteran would be more likely to lead a warband rather than a huge brute. Firstly let me say Thank you to everyone who voted & placed their opinions. Counting up the votes cast here and over on the Post Apocalyptic Wargames Forum...here are the results. Toady - a Oil Drum roll please!! Number 1: Seven VotesNumber 2: Five Votes Number 3: Two VotesSo here he is....your NEW Warlord....

So I plan to add crude tattoos and a big shooter. While he is well equipped for close combat you need to bring more than a huge chopper to a gun fight!!

When do you find the time to model?

Like most of us out there I do not do this hobby full time. I wish I could. It is a hobby and I do it because I enjoy it. Like most of us I have similar time pressures such as work, commuting, family life,chores etc etc. Even though we are unfortunate enough not to have children we do have four cats which despite reputation like to pester me for constant attention.

Now as there is only the two of us, not including the cats of course, I like to spend as much time as possible with my lady who is my best friend. When I first got into the hobby the time spent locked away did cause some problems. So I came up with a happy compromise - I got a folding TV table. I use this to paint and build as I need while watching TV with my Wife. This way I can spend time with the most important person in my life and enjoy my hobby. Its a win win.

From time to time I need to do something messy or that smells. So I just grab a bit of time while my good Lady is at work or out & about.

Actual games get played as and when. Usually weekends or when I am off work. To be honest I wish I had more time to play some games. Maybe one day.

Like this blog post? Why not see what the other Union members say about this subject?

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Sunday, 19 January 2014

I have been busy getting some minis prepped ready for paint. You may have noticed the Dreadball figures in my previous Blog Post. There is more...Back before Christmas I started work on Dr Steel's Steam Driven Combat Suit. It is now in undercoated along with a random Wastelander from the NY3K range supplied by East Riding Miniatures.

Dr Steel is to be an objective in a game. A kind of rescue the Mad Doc game.Another thing I am working on is the army for Great Lakes. These are GW 40K Tallarn figures. I am tempted to write up some fluff to make them a Tribal group absorbed by Great Lakes who have been fashioned into a Military Unit.All the eagles & skulls have been shaven off. That was no easy task and its a miracle that I still have all my fingers. Some Green Stuff paint was used to fill gaps and hide any rough spots. I don't care too much as these are intended to be a Post Apoc force. Rough & Ready is better.

I got these figures on Evilbay a few years ago. The problem is there was a couple of bits missing for the heavy weapon.

I used a pair of Ork drivers legs and pair of wheels from a 1/72 truck kit I had laying about. Yippeee Autocannon!!Then there the Squad Leader with the Plasma pistol. I have never liked the look of 40K Plasma weapons. It had to go.

A resin pistol from Anvil Castings fixed him up.Then there was the Melta Guns. They look okay but again I am not a fan of them in my games. Actually thinking about it they would probably make better looking Plasma weapons than the usual 40K offerings. As these a Post Apoc I wanted Squad level support weapons. With a little carving I came up with these....

They have a kind of Lewis Gun feel. The Magazine on top is made from some 1/35 land mines from a German WW2 accessories kit.

One of the many hobby related items I got from Santa Claus was the Dreadball game. After the holiday it has taken me a little while to get going again. Most of the Dreadball figures are multipart. After reading comments in various places on the web about how fiddely they are to assemble and clean up I was a little apprehensive. However I found that they where no more difficult to assemble than other manufacturers figures. The same goes for the clean up too. I guess the review I read may have been from other company fanboys who are a little biased. So the figures are assembled and in primer. My tortured brain is still thinking up some color schemes (and names) for the two teams. First up the Ref & Balls - no not her Balls!!

Next the Corporation Team:

Finally the Orx/Marauder team:

The Marauder team will be getting my Trogz Human skin tones. Although Dreadball is played throughout the Galaxy I am inserting into my Utopia City setting (my version of Mega City One) on Mattblackgod's world. Hopefully I will have them painted soon.

Welcome back to my meandering blog. This week's Sprue Cutters Union topic is Pet Peeves. The question is: What is it about other modellers do that gets under your skin? Before I start this is just about what annoys me. It is not intended to start a flame war and I do not intend to offend anyone reading this blog. This is just my opinion of how I see the world. As a Wargamer I find that I have a foot in each camp. One as a Wargamer, the other in the model makers camp. To me it is a way to be more interactive with the models I create. This blog post is written from the the prospective of the Wargamer. There are many things that have annoyed me over the years. Another Sprue Cutter, The Eternal Wargamer (Go Frank!) has hit most of these in his Pet Peeves post. So I will hit another one of mine. In this post will be looking at the inability of certain Wargamers to expand their horizons. When I returned to the hobby I found that it had changed. In 10 years GW had rolled 40K from 1st ed rules (Rogue Trader) to 3rd ed (soon to be 4th ed). Many of the figures had gone. The 40K Squat race had been removed, which was a shame as I wanted to build that army next. The game and even background had changed in feel. Imagination had been removed and many money spinners put in place. My other old favourite GW title Dark Future was also gone. This forced me to explore further afield. The internet was (& still is) filled with wonderful figure making companies. Some make their own rules too. Many of these rulesets do not require a specific miniature line. Quite a few of them are available freely.I championed two games back then. Combat Zone by EM4 and now sadly lost to the mists of time - Babylon's Burning. CZ is a near future game and Babylon's Burning was a modern Post Apocalyptic game. Both games had figures to use but didn't limit the game lines you could use. My old 40K RT figures saw some action. Later I found a great free online ruleset called Skank that was written to allow any miniatures to be used. I even played Orks Vs Space Marines with these rules. Some of the Grognards out there may even remember the campaign I ran with 40K Space Orks arrived in the Modern World, which I used these rules for. To be honest I have had a lot of fun playing all three of these rulesets.I tried a couple of times to get folks interested in playing Combat Zone in the local clubs. But 40K & Battletech seemed to be the only interest. In fact if it didn't have all the spit and polish of a massive marketing campaign there was little interest. A friend of mine has been to a couple of shows recently helping Miniature Mojo promote their Scavenge Skirmish Survive game. In a recent conversation he revealed that despite the beautifully painted miniatures and amazing table people walked away because the rule book was not shiny (its a free online ruleset) and Mojo isn't a big company. Okay, I do understand that Frozen Post Apocalyptic may not be to everyone's taste but these people took an interest in SSS until they realised that this is not by a Corporate owned firm. He also revealed to me that even folks playing Historical games seemed to stick to the game manufactures figures. I can understand with Sci Fi and some fantasy games you may have trouble stat lining a figure but with WW2? A German figure with a MP40 is still a German with a MP40 regardless of the manufacturer. While I can understand folks wanting to support the company making their favourite games & figures but many of these companies are large and will survive unless they do something really stupid (recent GW events spring to mind). There are a whole ton of figure manufacturers that can be used in your games - even unofficially. Companies such a Ral Partha Europe, Heresy Miniatures, Hasslefree, EM4, East Riding Miniatures, LAM, Artisan, Prince August , Ground Zero Games, Ramshackle Games and Copplestone make wonderful figures which can be used for various games (there are many many more companies but I won't list them here). Often they are cheaper and better quality than the figures produced by the big companies, who in my opinion treat the customers with contempt. Remember the only thing that says you can't use other figures in your games is the company making them. This not only limits what you can do as a Wargamer but it also limits our imaginations to the backgrounds that these games and figures are set in. Its ironic that the same imagination used to create these worlds are being limited by the fat cats looking to make money from it. It also leads to the snooty look down their noses attitude of some gamers because what the figure you field isn't "in accordance to the rules" which some fat cat sat in a office some place told them that was the "law". Wake up son, this is a GAME not building a nuclear reactor which could kill thousands if you mess it up. Back in the day Babylon's Burning producers Hetzerdog went under because they couldn't muscle in on the big companies action. They couldn't get people interested, despite my best efforts to promote the game. A great figure line is now gone forever. The people who ran the company lost all that they had put into it. All that time, effort and money. So that's it. My pet peeve is Wargamers who follow the big games companies blindly. Who refuse to explore new ideas and possibilities. Who will not try other figures or games other than the "chosen" games. If we all use unofficial armies in our games sooner or later we will force the big companies to take note (I have often fancied fielding a Copplestone/EM-4 Sci Fi Troopers army or a force of Ramshackle's Iron Warriors troopers in a 40K game). By supporting smaller games and manufactures you are helping smaller companies survive by helping keep our hobby diverse but allowing us all more freedom, which in my opinion can only lead to more fun. Go on give it a whirl. Try some new stuff. Don't let the man tell you what you can and can't do with your figures and armies. They are yours. You bought, assembled and painted them. The only people who can lose out are the fat cat Bankers and the Corporate kiss ass brigade who's only aim is to get even richer on your gaming buck and regard you as cattle. In my opinion the less of them in our world the better. Read what the other Sprue Cutters say!The Eternal WargamerYet Another Plastic ModellerMiniature & Model PaintingMotorsport ModellerHow this works:All it takes is a passion for this hobby and a blog to go along with it! All you have to do is write a post in response to this topic by Sunday and you can be a member of the Sprue Cutters Union. Take a look at the Sprue Cutters Union page for more detail.

Sunday, 12 January 2014

Its been a few weeks since there was a Sprue Cutters Post. As 2014 has arrived and we all settle into back into our lives the Union is back. This week's topic is:What three topics would you like to see the Union address? So here is mine: 1. Good Manufacturer Vs Bad Manufacturer - What in your eyes makes a good model, war-games or even hobby tools/accessories manufacturer or supplier? What makes them bad? 2. Why do we do what we do? Just what inspired you into this hobby? Why do you focus on a certain subject? - WW2 for example3. Bad Experiences Vs Good Experiences - Have you ever had a bad experience/reaction when you tell a friend, colleague or stranger of your hobby? Have you ever had a unexpected good reaction - such as someone being inspired by you to take up the hobby or develop into new genres? Thats my list. I am sure there are more. I was tempted to put a post up about the Hobby vs Cats. Or maybe Pets in general. I know Wargamers often have problems with Cats when gaming at each others houses. Like this post? Why not read what other Union members came up with :

The votes for which figure to use as the Warlord for my new Wasteland setting are going to be counted and I hope to announce which figure I will use in a week or so. Hobby wise I havent gotten to start anything this week as real life has kept me a busy. New Job, New Year and some small home improvements. I did look more deeply at the Dreadball rules. They look good and once the mechanisms have been grasped they should give a good fun game. My good lady is looking forward to trying Dreadball. To keep her interested I am going to let her choose which team she likes, let her name them and decide what paint scheme for the team. I will them paint them up for her. Whilst taking stock of what was in the lead pile I discovered that I had more GW 40K Tallarns than I thought. It was one of those cheap Ebay finds years back and I was keeping them for a wasteland project. There is enough to make 2 x 6 man squads plus a leader or two. This is often enough for the skirmish size games I like to play. So I am going to use them as the Great Lakes infantry/army. Tunics will be sand or Khaki with various coloured trousers. Not sure what to do with the head dresses colour wise. I am thinking of white head dresses and metal armour. I am going with a Blue shoulder flash to add a bit of unity and mark them as a force. There is a couple of Meltagun figures in there so I going to weapon swap for Machine Guns or Grenade Launcher. There is a figure with a Plasma Pistol which I also don't like so a weapon swap is in order for him too. I am thinking of 40K IG plastics modified so I can squeeze another section in. Head dresses will be added. The mix of kit between them should make them suitably Post Apoc looking. Of course I can buy some more from Ebay or GW should I have the urge to grow this force. Also in the Lead Pile are some Lead Adventure Miniatures Street Judges. I think that make great looking Special Ops or Elite. As Great Lakes is partly descended from a Military Bunker I figure a Spec Ops unit will be part of the military line up. I cannot imagine the emerging city state not using dirty tricks to enforce its power.

The WW2/Modern military and Gangers mix with basic weapons are still planned for militia units. But we will see how everything pans out.

Sunday, 5 January 2014

For my new Wastelands setting I am looking for a Warlord mini. I have a large collection of figures and its seems daft not to re-use older figures (besides I am skint!). This figure will also be my Warlord's Challenge 2014 figure over at the Post Apoc Wargames Forum. Here is my choices for the Warlord Mad Dan of Fortress of Rust, The Mound, Republic of Dan, mattblackgod's world.Which one to choose?? Whats your thoughts?

L-R NY3K ganger, A mix & Match Wastelander I made and Jakar Nilson NY3k Legends (NY3K figures are available from East Riding Minis) 1. The NY3k Ganger is intimidating looking. If I was to use him as a Warlord some crude tattoos will be added along with a nasty looking fire arm. 2. The Mix & Match Wastelander (Sham) has a look about him. Nothing much needed for him. He has a certain air about him helped by the staff and cloak. This Wastelander is a mix of 40K & WHFB parts with a Westwind Bikers head. The staff is a converted spear and the shotgun is scratch built. The figure will need touching up as it appears the paint is chipped on the head. One thing you may notice is this figure is a lefty - it was a mini me and I am left handed. It seemed the right thing to do (no pun intended ;-) )3. The last one is Jakar Nilson figure. A nice mini with a double barrelled shotgun and a sinister looking helmet. He would make a good gang boss. But would he cut it as a Warlord?? Which one should I use for the part? Pick a number!

Welcome back to my humble blog, I hope you all had a Happy Christmas and your New Year is going splendidly. Despite all the rushing about, celebrating and other holiday activites, I did manage to grab some time in the man cave knocking up some terrain odds and ends. All this stuff is WIP and needs finishing. First up some Post Apocalyptic attempt at dry stone walling using rubble...

These are made from scraps of old cork flooring tile broken up and stacked. Maybe some other bits of detailing such as rebar needs adding? Random rubble pile for cover.Well you got to give your little men a chance when the bad un's are using them as target practise!

Again made from broken up scraps of cork flooring tiles. Another Rubble wall and a wood pile.Hey you got to stay warm at night. A good fire keeps the mutant beasties at bay too.

The Rubble wall is bits of polystyrene packaging mounted on a old plastic gift card. The wood pile is scraps of balsa wood again mounted on a gift card. Rubble defensive position Every settlement needs a nearly safe place to shoot from when the raiders roll into town.

Again this is made from broken up old cork flooring tile scraps glued to a old CD. Industrial plant/ruins

This was made for my Stalker games as part of a set some years ago. I never got to finishing it. So I have slapped on some base coats in the hope it will inspire me to finish it. It is constructed from drinks bottle tops and yakult yoghurt bottles mounted on a CD. Industrial plant/ruins 2.

Another made for my Stalker Games but never finished. This one is a old water pistol tank, a yakult yoghurt bottle, some drinks bottle tops and some bits of toys from the bits box. Again it is mounted on a CD. Sci-Fi Desert Hab 1

For this model I was going for a ramshackle look so it would not look out of place on a frontier world. It may even do for post apocalyptic too. It was knocked up from an old food tub. The other details are container tops and pen tops. The old food tub was reenforced with PVA and newspaper in layers. It seems to work well. You can't see the windows but they have mesh grills. More/better pictures when I finish this. Sci-Fi Desert Hab 2

This was made from a plastic bowl you can get for picnics. This bowl was sturdy so I didn't bother with the PVA glue - Newspaper reinforcement. The windows are washers and bits of drinking straw makes up the door frame. Plastic container tops, pen tops and bits from the bits box make up the detail on the roof. All these WIP items need washes, drybrushing and detailing to finish them off. Not pictured here is the two large buildings I am making for my Mega City setting, They will follow when more work gets done to them. All these models will be shown in greater detail when I get them finished. Keep watching!

Over on the Post Apoc Wargames forum there has been much talk around the bar and camp fires of a Challenge to make for 2014. The challenge is simple this year - You will be required to make a mini for your wastelands, the only stipulation is that it must be a mini you and it must reflect how you would see yourself if this was your mini's home in the wastelands (& personality on the Post Apoc Wargames forum). You can mix in anything that you feel reflects you. For instance board member Tinker may do a figure with some sort of Rat on a Stick or beer barrel (denizens who visit the boards will know what nonsense I am talking about). Of course that doesn't mean that you can't further embellish it with your own character traits. For instance a Scotsman may want a kilt or Claymore on his figure. There is no limit on the figure scale, after all you may want to use your mini you in your own table top adventures. If you are a print and play gamer you may want to make a figure from a collage or draw your own if you wish. Again, like all the other challenges this is just for fun. There is no reward. The idea is get some interaction going and the have a bit of fun. There is no real time limit but it would be nice to have it done by 31st Dec 2014. So fancy a go? Go join the Post Apoc Wargames Forum, say hi in the Bar and then join in the fun here. Don't forget to show us your progress.